Conventional marine accessories typically need to be attached to a portion of the boat hull, such as the gunnel, or other suitable structure to serve the intended purpose of the accessory. Accordingly, most manufacturers design and supply individual, custom mounts for each product they sell. This requires the boat or vehicle owner to mount individual and varying accessories in multiple locations on the gunnel. The decisions of how to arrange these mounts for convenience and utility are difficult and require custom holes to be drilled into the boat gunnel or hull. When the owner wants to move the accessory or upgrade to a different model or competitive product the entire arrangement is not optimized and the existing screw and mounting holes are often inappropriate for the new accessory and arrangement. As a result, extensive repairs to the gunnels are required or the boat owner must live with a non-optimized configuration.
Similarly, various accessories exist for automotive or military applications that preferably are mounted to a fixed surface of a vehicle or other structure. As with marine accessories, it is desirable for the accessories to be secured to the structure in a releasable manner. It is also often desirable for the accessory to be locked in a specific rotational orientation in order to facilitate use of the accessory. The same drawbacks associated with conventional marine accessories are found in these fields and others where a wide variety of accessories are used.
An example of a prior art mounting system used in marine applications is offered by Scotty (British Columbia, Canada). This company manufacturers rod holders and mountings systems. For example, one product is item #344 “Round Flush Deck Mount,” which features a mounting plate designed to accept post mount rod holders that are also available from Scotty. This system employs a relatively small diameter post that uses interlocking splines to lock the post and mount into specific rotational orientations. The system also employs a retention mechanism in which the post features a raised ring at the bottom with a single cutout. A projection at the bottom of the deck mount allows the post to be inserted so that the raised ring can pass beyond the projection only when the post is rotationally oriented so that the projection aligns with the cutout. Once the raised ring is inserted beyond the projection, rotation of the post so that the projection is not aligned with the cutout prevents the post from being completely withdrawn due to the interference between the projection and the raised ring. Nevertheless, in this orientation, axial movement between the post and the mount is possible. Specifically, the post can be withdrawn to the point where the projection hits the raised ring. This pulls the splines out of engagement and allows the post to be rotated within mount.
Although this mount represents an improvement over other mounting accessories, it is limited by a number of drawbacks. For example, the post must be inserted in a specific rotational orientation to allow the projection to pass through the cutout. This may be inconvenient or difficult depending upon the type of accessory being used. Also, it can be frustrating for the user to determine and utilize the exact alignment every time the post is inserted.
Another drawback is that this system is not a secure locking mechanism that prevents axial motion, rather it is simply a failsafe retention system. Even when in the retention positions, the post can still travel up and down within the mount between positions where the splines are engaged or disengaged. Furthermore, the retention system is not engaged if the post happens to be rotationally positioned so that the projection aligns with the cutout.
Accordingly, what has been needed is a universal mounting system that is appropriate for a wide range of accessories. Preferably, the design should robust and simple. Also preferably, the locking mechanism should be operable at any rotational orientation and should substantially prevent any axial movement of the accessory within the mount when engaged.
Similarly, there is a need for a universal mount that is adapted for use in other fields, such as automotive or military, or may be used with any structure, whether mobile or stationary.